Overtime
by Augusta
Summary: Plotless little piece of fun. Oneshot. WendyHodges friendship


**Overtime**

Summary: Plotless little piece of fun. Wendy/Hodges friendship.

Disclaimer: CSI's not mine, but I'd still like to have Nicky for a Christmas gift. (hint-hint)

Triples were the definition of hell on earth…or so everyone on the Midnight Shift was beginning to think. The high-profile case thrown at them by Conrad Ecklie had slowly lengthened the usual eight-hour shift into sixteen and then even longer.

Well into their eighteenth hour of an excruciatingly long shift the lab techs and CSIs alike agreed to split the workload evenly into four-hour shifts. This would eventually give everyone a chance to go home, take a shower, catch a catnap, or whatever he or she had to do. Most had opted to shower and change in the locker room and then sleep wherever they happened to fall.

Doctor Al Robbins, David Phillips, Jim Brass, and Sophia Curtis had gone home long ago. Their part of the investigation was over until the CSIs came up with something. Catherine Willows and Warrick Brown sat with Archie Johnson in front of separate laptops trying to recreate a digital 3-D rendering of the crime scene with very little luck. Greg Sanders worked studiously, albeit boredly, out in the garage swabbing and bagging samples from the car they'd found the dead CEO in. Bobby Dawson sat in the Ballistics Lab bent over a microscope comparing and contrasting the countless bullets that had been strewn across the crime scene. Mandy Webster sat with her chin propped in her hand, staring with a glazed expression as AFIS and APIS ran the few finger and palmprints they'd found inside they car. She slid her gaze to left to find Henry Andrews passed out with his head on the adjacent work table, drooling.

Unbeknownst to Assistant Administrator Ecklie, who prowled the halls like a balding bulldog, but knownst to everyone else, Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle lay sleeping in the Entomologist's office. They'd locked the door and closed the blinds and cuddled peacefully for the few hours they were allotted amongst Grissom's odd collection.

Wendy Simms shuffled tiredly out of the shower in the locker room toweling her hair. She heaved a sigh and slumped her shoulders when she saw Nick Stokes stretched out on the bench, a towel pillowed under his head, snoozing his four free hours away. There was one option out the window. Exhausted, she tossed her towel in the hamper and headed for the break room. Maybe the couch was free.

The break room was lit up like a Christmas tree and she could easily see David Hodges reclining across one end of the couch. His legs stretched out in front of him, arms draped across the back of the couch, and head flopped back, Hodges was dead-to-the-world.

Wendy silently dug for the extra blanket that was stowed behind the couch for times such as this. Then she quietly closed all the blinds, and shut the door itself with a low click before turning off the lights so the only illumination came from the window on the door. She curled up on the other end of the couch, trying hard not to touch the Trace tech, lest he wake up and start pestering her. Unfortunately, finding a comfortable position without touching him was a bit problematic. The couch was more like a large settee; big enough for two people to sit comfortably, but three could squeeze in a pinch.

Finally giving up with a huff, Wendy rearranged herself so her head was on Hodges shoulder and her feet dangled over the arm so she could unfold a little from her previously uncomfortable position. She pulled the blanket up over her shoulder and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

Sometime later, on the other end of the lab, Bobby rolled his stiff shoulders as he made notations on the latest bullet under his microscope. He stood and gave a full-body stretch. It was time for another coffee break if he was going to stay awake for two more hours. So, he grabbed his cup and slowly started making his way to the break room.

Just outside the closed door he found the resident Trekkie plastered to the dark window like a kid looking in a candy shop.

"Archie?"

The AV tech jumped and then smiled widely as he motioned to the break room. "You're never going to guess who's in there."

"I ain't got time for games now Arch. Just let me look." Bobby said as he nudged the smaller tech out of the way.

The burly Ballistics tech cracked the door just enough so he could stick his head in and get a quick peek at the occupants. His eyes widened for a second before he slowly closed the door and cocked an eyebrow at Archie. "Where's your camera?"

"Lucky for us, I just happen to have it in my locker."

Both grinned wickedly at the other and then bolted for the locker room, juvenile intentions running though their head and crafty smiles plastered on their faces.

* * *

Wendy's brows furrowed as she slowly drifted back into the land of the semi-conscious. What had woken her up? Her eyelids fluttered open and she rolled her eyes up to look into the face of the-most-irritatingly-annoying-person-in-the-whole-freaking-universe. The reason, besides the obvious, that Hodges was now the-most-irritatingly-annoying-person-in-the-whole-freaking-universe was that he was snoring loudly, and very obnoxiously, in her ear.

She closed her eyes and groaned in frustration. How hard could it be for a girl to get a couple hours sleep around here? Apparently, it was ridiculously hard.

She blindly reached up with one hand and groped for Hodges' nose. Latching on in one go, she pinched the airway shut with a vengeance. Two seconds went by before his eyes flew open and he gasped for a breath of air.

"What da 'ell?! Let go of by dose!"

Wendy yawned and rubbed her face against his shirt sleepily. "You were snoring."

"I don' snore."

"Yes, you do." She yawned again and he batted her lax fingers away from his face. Her hand fell to his chest and she didn't move.

He watched her for a second before he realized she'd fallen back asleep and he rolled his shoulder to jostle her awake. "Hey, why are you sleeping on my shoulder anyway?"

"Only place left to sleep." She mumbled back.

Lifting her wrist up, she cracked an eye to stare at her softly glowing watch face. "We've got 'bout two hours left before we have to report back to the labs. Just go back to sleep."

He was about to agree with her when he saw a flash out of the corner of his eye and heard the distinctive click of a camera. His confused gaze immediately fell on the voyeurs on the other side of the room. "What the hell?"

Wendy rubbed at her eyes and glared at Bobby and Archie. "You're so dead."

The two techs pulled faces at Wendy and Hodges, not the least bit scared of them.

Archie held a finger to his chin thoughtfully. "Gee, Bobby I wonder what we could do with this picture?"

"You'd BETTER get rid of it." Hodges sent them a death glare.

"I know, Arch. We can post it on the lab's message board."

"You wouldn't!"

Both Archie and Bobby smiled evilly at them. Hodges suddenly felt something wiggling against his leg and he immediately realized it was probably the racing cockroach Grissom lost just yesterday and mumbled to Wendy out of the corner of his mouth.

"Get your camera phone ready."

She didn't argue or question him as she dipped her hand in her pocket and flipped her phone out and pointed it at the two mischeivous lab techs just as Hodges wrapped his hand around the massive African Hissing Cockroach and pitched it at Bobby and Archie. It landed squarely on Archie's forehead and emitted a loud, angry hiss. Both men acreamed like little girls and ran out the door as Wendy's camera phone flashed, taking their picture. Both were in such a hurry to leave they didn't realize they'd left Archie's digital camera behind.

Hodges studied the picture on her phone with an impish grin as a message box popped up.

"Cannot save picture, SD card full. You mean we can't use it?"

Wendy smiled devilishly as she stood to go pick up Archie's dropped camera. Hodges followed slowly behind her and grabbed Grissom's missing racing roach. Dumping out a fastfood cup in the sink, he dropped the bug in and snapped the lid back on.

He flopped back down on the couch and rubbed his eyes as he reitterated his question. "We can't use it, can we?"

"They don't know that." She said as she dropped down next to him.

He mulled it over as she laid her head back on his shoulder and pulled the blanket back over her. He grinned and looked down at her. "That's just…devious."

"Why thank you Mr. Hodges." She eyed Archie's camera and then deleted the photo with relish.

"…and a little scary."

She tipped her head back and blinked at him. "Why?"

"I might actually be starting to like you, Simms."

She yawned and snuggled deeper into his shoulder as he pulled the blanket over his legs.

"Don't worry Hodges. You don't have to ruin your asshole reputation. Personally, I'm gonna blame it on the overtime."

"Sounds good. Wake me in two hours, would you?"

"Yeah. Night."

"You mean afternoon."

She rolled her eyes behind her closed lids. "Whatever."

"Eh, blame it on the overtime. Sounds good."

"Shut up, Hodges and go to sleep."


End file.
